Method of erecting tanks



Jan. 5, 1932. L. D. MORTON METHOD OF ERECTING TANKS Filed Ap ril 15, 1929' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 5, 1932. D. MORTON METHOD OF ERECTING TANKS Filed April 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. 1. D. Mar/DI? Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOWNDES D. MORTON, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTERN GAS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA METHOD OF ERECTING TANKS Application filed April 15,

This invention relates to methods of erecting tanks or similar structures and particularly gas holders.

My invention has for one of its objects to overcome the disadvantages that have heretofore hindered the use of welding in the erection of tanks.

A further object is to provide a method of erecting tanks which permits the welding of the various seams just as the several parts successively reach their final assembled positions.

In using the various methods of welding the edges of the side plates of tanks, the problem of bringing these side plates to the correct radius, circumference and elevation, and holding them in the correct position while welding, has been so diflicult as to render these previous methods unsatisfactory.

Broadly, the method of the present invention is essentially one of raising simultaneously a complete ring or course of side sheets that is to form a horizontal zone or section of the completed tank and repeating the operation until the sides of the tank are completed.

First, the bottom plates are laid down 0 the foundation and welded. The curb angles are then welded in place.

The tank sides may now be erected. The plates of the bottom or outer ring are then raised on edge and forced out against the curb angle and wedged in place. When these sheets have been forced to the proper radius and in firm contact with the curb angle, they are temporarily or tack welded to the angle. The tops of the plates are then brought to the proper circumference and elevation, and the vertical seams of the plates are tack welded.

The plates for the second ring or course are now placed on edge and forced out to their proper circumference against the first course, already in place, and are also tack welded to each other. For the succeeding courses, this method is repeated until all the circular rings are nested together on the tank bottom. J acking beams or channels are now placed on the inside of the rings, around the 1929. Serial No. 355,382.

tank circumference, and fastened to the inner or top ring by clips temporarily welded in place.

J acking is started and when the inner or top ring reaches its-correct position, relative to its adjacent ring, it is forced against this ring and tack welded to it around the entire circumference. This circumferential seam is then continuously welded. The jacks and jacking beams are now lowered, and clips temporarily welded between the beams and the second ring. J acking is now resumed and the first and second ring moved up together until the bottom of the second. ring reaches its correct position relative to the adjacent third ring and thus until all the rings have been carried up to their proper position and welded in place.

All the jacks, jacking beams and temporary structures are then removed from the in side of the tank and the erection of the crown and support is started.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through the center of the tank with the first ring of plates in position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l with all of the rings or plates nested on the foundation;

Fig. 3 is an enlargement of the left portion of Fig. 2 with an elevating channel fastened in position;

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 with the innermost ring elevated;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing apparatus in position to elevate the two innermost rings;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a. modification of the elevating channel; and

Fig. 7 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 6 showing the elevating channel in front elevation.

In the erection of the tank, the bottom plates 1 are laid on a sand pad 2 which covers the foundation 3. The foundation has its edges lapped or raised with a small elevation 4, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The seams of the bottom plates 1 are tack welded to insure against disarrangement and are then permanently welded, working from the center of "the ' tank sides which, for

5 If desired. the plates of rin the tank towards the circumference. The curb angles 5 which have previously been rolled to the exact are are then placed in'correct position with the horizontal leg toward outside and are tack welded 1n place after which'permanent welds are complete v around the entire circumference.

The base is now ready fore'rection of the example, may com rise five rings 6,7, 8, 9 and 10. The plates the bottom or outer ring 6 are then placed on edge and forced out against the bottom curb angle and wed blocks 12 and ang 1 and 2. When these sheets have been forced ed in place by wooden to the proper radius and are in firm contact. with the curb angle 5, thereby using the angle as a attern', welded to the angle. brought to the proper circumference by the use of tem orary angles 14 and the vertical seams of e plate in ring 6 are then tack welded. The a pearance of the partially erected tank at t is stage is shown inFig. 1. g 6-may be permanently welded to each ot er at this time and also permanently welded to the curb 5.

The plates for the second ring 7 are now placed on edge and forced out'to pro er circumference against the first course 0 lates already in place by reinserting wooden locks 12 against the clips 13. That is, ring 6 now serves as the pattern for forming or shaping ring 7. The temporary angles 14 are again placed in position. this time with their top ends against the plates forming ring 7. The plates of ring 7 are temporarily tack welded to each. other, after which the wooden blocks 12 and the angle irons 14 are moved out of the way and the set of plates to form the third ring 8 are placed on edge and forced out a must ring 7. This method is repeated untfi all of the circular rin are nested together on. the tank bottom as s own in Fig. 2.

Relatively narrow straps 15 are temporarily'tack welded to the tops of' all of the rings except the innermost one for the urpose of keeping the intermediate rings rom they are t-ac rising as by being carried along by fri'ction when the inner ring is elevated. A top curb 16 may now be permanently welded to the innermost ring 10. Clips 17 are fastened to the top curb 16 by means of bolts 18 and clips 19 are temporarily welded to the inner ring 10.

J acking beams or channels 20 are H col umns with 1 inch holes for th inch steel pins s aced 6 inches apart and are now sup-- porte by means of the clips 17 and 19 and are spaced approximately ten feet apart around the circumference. The arrangement of parts at this stage is shown in Fig. 3. An individual jack 21 is used under the lower end of each beam 20 and after removing all of the temporary wooden blocks 12 this stage. 10 have only e clips 13, shown in Figs.

e tops of the plates are then and angles 13, lifting isgstarted and continued until the inner or top ring 10 overlaps the upper ed e only of ring 9 by an amount suitable for t e formation of a seam.

At this time, 'the temporary an le iron braces 14 are again put in place to orce the lower edge of ring 10 outwardly into firm contact with the upper edge" of ring 9, the angle irons being supported at their. inner en s by clips 22. Fig.4 showsthe tank at Since the vertical seams in ring been temporarily welded or tack welded an since care has been taken not to do any weldin very near the lower ends of these seams. the lower edge of 10 can be sprung a slight amount to bring it into firm contact with the upper edge of ring 9. The two rings arenow tack welded about every foot around the entire circumference and are then ermanently or continuously welded.

Eac of the jacking beams 20 is now loosened from clips 17 and. 19 by the pulling of the bolts ,or pins and is lowered until its lower end rests upon the jack 21 when its plun er is in its lowered position. A temporary c ip 23 is now placed around each elevating beam 20 and temporarily welded to ring 9. The temporary braces 14 are next removed. The upper edges of the straps 15 are cut ofi to free the plates forming ring 9 from the plates forming rings 8, 7 and 6 and-the vertical seams in ring 10 may or may not .be permanently welded at this time.

Fig. 5 shows the rings 10 and 9 all ready to i be elevated and the elevation of rings 10 and 9 is now brought about by manipulation of the 'ack 21 until the bottom of ring 9 only over aps ring 8 a sufficient distance to form a lap seam. The temporary angle braces 14 are again put in position to spring the bottom of ring 9 outwardly if it is not already tight against the top of ring 8.

Rings 8 and 9 are permanently welded together and the elevating and welding operations are repeated until all of the rings have been hoisted to their proper positions and welded in place. The top curb 16 is already permanently welded in place and forms the foundation for the crown and support, the erection of which can now proceed.

If the ring being elevated shows any tendency to drift in and away from the next succeeding ring, a jacking channel can be fastened to the outside of the ring being elevated by means of clips temporarily welded to this ring and a roller can be bolted to the bottom end of the elevating or jackin channel to ride or press on the outside 0 the bottom course. This construction is not illustrated in the drawings since it is so seldom required as to be a mere emergency expedient.

The modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7 makes use of pairs of permanent vertical frame members 24 that rest durin the period of construction on the bottom of t e tank in-' the nesting of a stead of the single jacking beams or channels 20 which. are elevated with the rings or courses of plates being lifted. There are a plurality 0 pairs of the vertical beams 24 and each pair is braced at the top by two angle irons 25 and is held steady at the bottom by means of angle irons 26 temporarily welded to the beams 24 and to the bottom plate 1. A top plate 27 is welded across the upper ends of each pair of beams 24.

The top plate 27 supports a chain 28 from an eye bolt 29 by means of a chain block (not shown). The lower end of the chain 28 is attached to a clip 30 that is temporarily welded to the inner side of the ring of plates next to be lifted, ring 10 in Fig. 6, and carries a roller 31 which bears against the outer edges of the beams 24. After any given ring is elevated slightly, a clip 32 can be attached to the beams to support a roller 33.

Figs. 6 and 7 also show a member 34 welded to the top edges of all the rings except the ring 10 that is being lifted. The member 34 is a modification of the strap 15, shown in Figs. 4 to 6, as it is temporarily welded on in an edgewise position.

After a ring ofp-lates is lifted and after its bottom is welded to the top edge of the next succeeding ring, temporary clip 30 is removed and rewelded temporarily to the bottom of the ring next to be elevated. Roller 31 is removed and a roller of larger diameter is substituted to steady the bottom of the ring being elevated against the outside edge of the vertical beam 24.

A plate 35, welded between the pair of beams 24, forms a seat for a lifting jack in case it is desired to use it instead of the chain hoist. Small angles 36 and 37 aid in retaining the jack in upright position.

Both modifications of the method comprise lurality of rings of plates that are to form liorizontal zones or sections of the completed tank on the foundation of the tank, the elevating of one of the rings and the welding of its bottom edge to the top edge of the next adjacent ring and continuing until all of the rings are in position. Both modifications comprise the elevation of the smallest or innermost ring as taking place first, but the elevation of the outermost ring first and thereafter each succeeding ring of next smallest diameter is not a departure from the spirit of this invention. Elevating the outer ring first would of course result in the innermost or smallest ring being welded to the bottom of the tank.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of erecting a tank having plates that overlap at the horizontal seams, which comprises the arrangement of the plates in concentric rings, elevating one ring until it overlaps a second ring only sufliciently for a seam and then welding said seam, elevating the rings thus combined until the second ring overlaps the next adjacent ring only suflicientl for a seam and then welding that seam, an continuing the operation until all of the rings are connected in position. I

2. The method of erecting a tank which comprises arranging plates in a series of concentric rin s on a horizontal plate elevating the ring of smallest diameter until its lower edge is o posite the upper edge of the rin having t e second smallest diameter an welding said two edges, elevating the rings thus combined until the bottom edge of the combined rin is opposite the upper edge of the ring of t e third smallest diameter and welding said two last named edges and continuing the operation until only the ring, of gi'eatest diameter rests on the horizontal p ate.

3. The method of assembling the sections of the sides of a tank having rings of plates that overla at the horizontal seams which comprises 1; e nestin of all the rings so that they overlap their fu 1 width with all vertical seams in each ring temporaril welded, elevating one ring until it over a s the next succeeding second ring only su ciently for a seam, spreading the temporarily welded vertical seams in the elevated rin to cause the latter to make firm contact wit the succeeding ring, permanently welding the horizontal seam, elevating the combined first and second rings, spreadin the temporary vertical seams in the secon ring to cause the latter to make firm contact with the third ring,

permanently welding the seam along the line of firm contact between the second and third rings and similarly connecting the remaining rings of the tank.

4. The method of erecting a tank which comprises positioning a bottom plate, welding an angle iron curb to the bottom plate, forcing vertical plates against the curb using it as a pattern to form a\ring, welding the plates to the curb and to each other, forcing a second set of plates against the ring thus formed using it as a pattern to form a second ring of lates, temporarily welding the second set of lates to each other, forming a third ring oi plates using the second ring as a pattern and similarly until all of the rings are formed, then elevating the last formed ring to overlap the adjacent ring only sufliciently for a seam, spreading the temporary seams in the elevated ring to cause the latter to make firm contact with the adjacent ring, permanently welding the two rings along the line of firm contact, elevating the two united rings, spreading the temporary vertical seams in said adjacent ring to establish firm contact with the next adjacent ring, permanently welding the lower of said two rings to the next adjacent or third ring and continuing the operation until all the rings are welded in position.

5. The method of erectingtanks which 14- means comprises arranging the material for the sides thereof in a series of horizontal concentric rings, elevating the several rings successively and securing each ring upon its elevation to the next ring in the series in their extended positions.

6. The method of erecting tanks which 4 comprises arranging the material for the sides thereof in a series of concentric rings,

elevating one of the rings to its proper position relative to the next ring in the series and connecting their adjacent edges, elevatin the rings thus connected to bring the secon ring in the series into proper position relative to the third ring in the series and connecting their adjacent ed and then continuing the operation unti the series of rings are all in operative position.

7. The method of erecting tanks which 2 comprises arranging the material for the sides thereof in a series of concentric rin successively elevating the to ring and t e other rings in the order in w ich they form successively lower parts of the sides and 85 after each successive elevation, securing the last previously elevated ring to'the ring that is next to be elevated.

8. The method of erecting tanks which comprises arranging hands of material for 8 the several horizontal zones of the tank in nested relation, elevating the bands in the order in which they are to form successively lower zones, and after each successive elevation securing the last reviously elevated band of material to the and that is next to be elevated.

9. The method of erecting tanks which comprises arranging sections of material for the several horizontal zones of the tank in 40 nested relation and elevating and uniting the sections in that order, beginning with the topmost section, in which they are to form successively lower zones whereby the elevationof any section imparts a like amount of I upward movement to all of the sections that are to form higher zones of the tank.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11th day of April, 1929.

LOWNDES -D. MORTON. 

